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Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Final Score 5-2 as Lions End Season on Eight-Game Winless Skid

Orlando conceded three times in seven minutes just after being denied what appeared a sure penalty, and finish 11th in the East.

Published

7 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City lost center back Robin Jansson to injury, then went on to give up a bunch of goals, losing 5-2 to the Chicago Fire at Exploria Stadium in the team’s final game of the 2019 MLS season. Despite Tesho Akindele’s opening goal just four minutes in, the Lions allowed an equalizer before halftime, then completely fell apart in the second half.

The Lions (9-15-10, 37 points) end the season with a losing home record (6-8-3) and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. Orlando has still never beaten the Fire (10-12-12, 42 points) at home (0-2-3).

Kyle Smith scored an own goal for Chicago that perhaps should have been credited to C.J. Sapong (who added a goal later). Aleksander Katai added a goal for the Fire and Przemyslaw Frankowski scored a brace. Benji Michel added a second for Orlando.

“Obviously very disappointing finish to the season,” said Head Coach James O’Connor after the match. “It’s just a really bitter way to finish the season.”

Lamine Sané was forced out of O’Connor’s lineup due to illness, Michel replaced Dom Dwyer in the starting lineup, and Uri Rosell stepped into the midfield for Sebas Mendez, otherwise it was the preferred starting lineup (minus the injured Joao Moutinho, of course).

It didn’t take Orlando long to get on the scoreboard. It nearly happened in the second minute when Kenneth Kronholm made two outstanding saves to deny Mauricio Pereyra and Michel in successive attempts.

But the Lions broke through two minutes later anyway.

A long ball from Pereyra sent Michel in behind the defense. The rookie rounded goalkeeper Kronholm but his touch was heavy and took him wide. Michel sent the ball to Akindele, who sent a shot off the right post that hit the back of Kronholm’s legs and went in, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute. The goal was originally called offside in the buildup on Michel but video review showed Michel was onside and the goal counted.

It was Orlando’s earliest goal from the start of the game all season.

Chicago equalized in the 17th minute. After several good crosses in from the right by Katai, the Fire finally paid one off. Katai fizzed a ball into the middle that Sapong got a foot on. The ball hit off Smith and went in for what was called an own goal.

Kronholm was outstanding in net for Chicago in the first half and kept the Fire from falling back behind. The first stop was in the 22nd, when Nani and Pereyra combined to send Akindele in behind. The Canadian left his shot too close to Kronholm, who made the stop.

The next big save came at the other end, with Brian Rowe making a spectacular diving stop on a Brandt Bronico drive from just outside the penalty area in the 30th minute.

The ensuing corner kick resulted in disaster for Orlando. Sapong barreled into Jansson in the air, sending the Swede toward the turf. Jansson’s head hit Smith’s knee as he fell and the defender had to be stretchered off on a back brace and in a neck collar for precautionary reasons. He was sent to the hospital to get checked out for a potential neck injury and Shane O’Neill took his place on defense.

Kronholm robbed Michel of a goal in the 41st minute as his excellent first half continued.

After nine minutes of first-half stoppage due largely to the Jansson injury, the teams went to the break tied at 1-1. Chicago held most of the possession in the first half (56%) and was the more accurate passing side (89%-84%), while Orlando had more shots (7-5) and shots on target (6-1).

Chicago came out with some early pressure in the second half, looking to break the stalemate. Frankowski missed a shot over the bar early in the half, but the game really turned after a play in the 58th minute.

Orlando got a chance in close, with Akindele getting sent in by second-half sub Sacha Kljestan. Tesho crossed right to left for Michel to tap it in but the rookie was shoved from the top of the six all the way over the goal line and into the net by Johan Kappelhof. The ball trickled through to Klestan who fired just wide from a tight angle but the bigger issue was that no foul was given for what seemed to be a pretty clear denial of a goal-scoring opportunity.

“I felt like I was fouled,” Michel said after the game. “But I guess the ref saw otherwise. I can’t really think about that play. I’ve just got to keep going. Whatever he calls, he calls.”

Three minutes later, the Fire started a three-goal barrage in just seven minutes. Sapong started things in the 61st with Sapong putting Chicago in front for good. O’Neill was slow in closing down the striker who one-timed a pass from Fabian Herbers into the net to make it 2-1.

“Even before their second goal we’ve had…goodness…who knows how many chances,” O’Connor said. “That’s pretty indicative of how the season has gone for us.”

Two minutes later, Katai twice got Kamal Miller leaning the wrong way and drove home a left-footed shot just inside the far corner.

Four minutes after that, Frankowski got the ball with his back to goal in the area. After Smith went to ground trying to clear it, he simply back-heeled it into the net.

Rowe made a save on a 3-on-2 break in the 69th to keep the score at 4-1.

Nani said teams that miss so many chances are susceptible to conceding when the ball isn’t going in.

“It’s almost the same as the last couple of games,” Nani said. “We had the chance to kill, the chance to put our opponents down, and the (missed) chances probably gave the other team the chance to score a goal and gave them confidence. And we go down in our motivation and our belief if we can win the game. The last five games are almost the same.”

Kljestan set up Michel for a consolation goal in the 75th, splitting the Chicago center backs with a perfect pass. The rookie turned and fired home to make it 4-2.

The game got chippy over the next 10 minutes with some nasty challenges by the Fire that drew two yellow cards and a retaliatory foul by Pereyra that earned a booking.

Orlando should have pulled closer in the 85th minute. A perfect ball from Kljestan to the back post found second-half sub Chris Mueller, but the second-year man didn’t go for goal and instead nodded the ball across for Michel, who let it bounce, then smashed it right at Kronholm, who fought it off.

Frankowski completed his brace in the 87th minute, getting into the area behind the defense. Rowe made the initial save on the shot but then stood watching, expecting the ball to sail out of play. Instead, the pop-up came down in play and Frankowski nodded it in unchallenged to make it 5-2 on an embarrassing play for Orlando City.

Just for good measure, Nani got 1-v-1 with Kronholm, then fired off the right post in stoppage time as yet another chance went wasted.

The final whistle mercifully blew the proceedings to a close, and in true Orlando frustrating fashion, it was just as the Lions had won a corner. Chicago ended with a 20-17 shots advantage, with Orlando getting more on goal (10-9). The Fire held 53% of the possession and were the more accurate passers (88%-85%).

O’Connor was frustrated with Orlando’s inability to put Chicago away early despite some outstanding scoring chances. Kronholm played his part in that but there were some good opportunities where the Lions simply didn’t finish.

“The chances that we didn’t capitalize on tonight, it’s just incredible,” he said. “You can’t miss the volume of chances like that.”

“We just weren’t clinical enough,” Michel added.

That’s all, folks. Another crummy season is over, but at least this is the first time it was a better season than the previous one since the Lions entered MLS. There’s nothing left to do now but wait to see what changes the team undergoes in preparation for 2020.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions welcome San Diego FC to Orlando for the first meeting ever between the two clubs.

Published

9 hours ago

on

September 5, 2026

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Image of Joran Gerbet playing against Minnesota United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (7-11-4, 25 points) and San Diego FC (8-8-6, 30 points) at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first-ever meeting between these two teams from different conferences

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

As mentioned above, tonight’s meeting between the Lions and San Diego is the first in the series history, so there is no history. The Lions are 2-2-1 against Western Conference teams this season, which means little to nothing in this particular match, and San Diego is going to be Orlando City’s final opponent from the opposite conference in MLS regular-season play this season.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a wild 3-3 road draw at Minnesota United a week ago, in which Daryl Dike and Antoine Griezmann scored on either side of halftime on Orlando’s first two shot attempts to put their team up 2-0 in the 64th minute. Minnesota stormed back with three goals off defensive errors in a four-minute span to take a late 3-2 lead. Just when the Loons appeared to be headed for all three points, Tyrese Spicer scored in stoppage time, forcing Minnesota to split the points. Orlando has a modest 1-0-1 unbeaten streak entering tonight, and the Lions are 5-4-2 at home in 2026.

San Diego is coming off a 3-1 home win over the LA Galaxy despite having Jeppe Tverskov sent off. Tonight’s visitors have won two straight games, but both were at home. They lost their last home game 3-1 at Portland on Aug. 19 and are 2-5-3 away from home this season.

The key for Orlando City tonight will be to mark Anders Dreyer, which is far easier said than done, as he has emerged as one of the league’s best playmakers. His eight goals and 11 assists give him 19 total goal contributions to lead his team. Marcus Ingvartsen is Dreyer’s favorite teammate to combine with, as the Danish forward has converted 11 times, leading San Diego in goals, and has added five assists. However, Ingvartsen is listed as out with a lower body injury. Midfielder Onni Valakari has chipped in four goals and seven assists.

“We respect San Diego, but as well we prepare our game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “We know how strong we are, especially at home, so now we go.”

Orlando City will be without Braian Ojeda (foot) and Adrian Marin (thigh), while Bernardo Rhein (thigh), has been upgraded to questionable. San Diego will be without the aforementioned Ingvartsen (lower body) and Tverskov (suspension).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Justin Ellis.

Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Daryl Dike.

Bench: Javier Otero, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Tiago, Marco Pasalic, Martin Ojeda, Tyrese Spicer.

San Diego FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: C.J. dos Santos.

Defenders: Kieran Sargeant, Ian Murphy, Manu Duah, Oscar Verhoeven.

Midfielders: Gabriel Pirani, Anibal Godoy, Alejandro Alvarado.

Forwards: Elias Achouri, Onni Valakari, Anders Dreyer.

Bench: Duran Ferree, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Christopher McVey, Bryan Zamble, David Vazquez, Ian Pilcher, Alex Mighten, Bryce Duke, Amahl Pellegrino.

Referees:

REF: Joe Dickerson.
AR1: Corey Parker.
AR2: Justin Howard.
4TH: Rodrigo Albuquerque.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Three Keys to Victory

Here’s what Orlando needs to do in order to return to winning ways against San Diego.

Published

1 day ago

on

September 4, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After the disappointment of two dropped points against Minnesota on Saturday, Orlando City is back home with an opportunity to get things back on track. The Lions need to keep picking up points if they want to keep pace in an increasingly crowded Eastern Conference, and Saturday’s game is a good chance to start September off on the right note. San Diego FC stands in the way of that good start, and what follows are three things that I believe Orlando needs to do in order to emerge victorious from this game.

Stay Strong on the Left

The left side of the defense has been a question mark for the Lions for much of the year. Adrian Marin, Bernardo Rhein, and Zakaria Taifi have all spent time at left back lately and have done so with varying degrees of success. Regardless of who suits up there on Saturday, that area of the field will be under scrutiny once again, since they’ll be tasked with stopping San Diego right winger Anders Dreyer. He has eight goals and 11 assists in 21 appearances this year, has played 60 key passes during that time, and is generally the lynchpin through which the San Diego offense operates. He hasn’t quite been on the same pace that saw him bag 19 goals and 19 assists in the regular season last year, but with four goal contributions in his last three MLS appearances, he’s extremely capable of wreaking havoc from the wing. A lot of the goals OCSC has conceded lately have come down the left side of the defense, and if that area of the field can’t be taken care of better, the Lions will likely be in for a difficult night.

Do Damage in Transition

Orlando’s current style of positionless, fluid, attacking soccer is at its best when it comes up against teams that want to come out and play. It struggles mightily against defensive bunkers but shines when the Lions can get out and run, target open spaces, and combine with teammates in unexpected areas. Fortunately for OCSC (in theory), San Diego is a team that likes to have the ball, as it has the highest average possession in the league. That means the Lions will have opportunities to force turnovers and break the other way at pace. In order to make that happen though, OCSC will need to be both disciplined and effective when it comes to applying its press. Then, if/when the Lions win the ball, correct decision-making and clinical execution in the final third will be key to avoid letting any chances slip through their fingers (paws?).

Clean Up the Self-Inflicted Errors

Orlando has dealt with more than its fair share of general defensive struggles this year, but avoidable errors have been a particular problem in recent weeks. Whether it’s been an ill-advised challenge, passing to the opposition in the defensive third, or leaving men unmarked in the box, unnecessary mistakes have cost OCSC points time and again. Against lesser opposition it hasn’t always mattered, as the Lions were able to rescue three points against Real Salt Lake, but if Orlando wants to make a playoff push, it needs to make a habit of playing cleaner games, plain and simple. San Diego is a good team with dangerous offensive players, and Saturday’s visitors will very likely take advantage of any opportunities that the Lions gift-wrap for them. Keeping things mistake-free will go a long way.

We’ve got ample proof this season that nothing is guaranteed, but if the Lions can lock down the left side of the defense, make hay in transition moments, and limit unforced errors, then they should be in a good position to take all three points from Saturday’s game. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/4/26

Martin Ojeda details his recovery from injury, Anna Moorhouse loaned to Manchester City, Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup journey, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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September 4, 2026

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Image of Martin Ojeda celebrating a goal against New England.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Three straight days of Orlando soccer starts tonight with Orlando City B’s road match against Inter Miami II at 7 p.m. Hopefully, Orlando’s teams do well over the next few days as crunch time is upon us when it comes to making the playoffs, especially for MLS NEXT Pro. For now though, let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City Prepares for San Diego FC

Orlando City will take on San Diego FC on Saturday in the first-ever game between the two clubs, and one of the storylines to keep an eye on is how much Martin Ojeda plays as he works his way back from injury. The Designated Player came off the bench late in Orlando’s 3-3 draw against Minnesota United in his first appearance since May 23. Not often injured, Ojeda spoke on how being off the field for over a month has shifted his perspective while training to return.

“You learn to value the moment much more. You learn to value every training session because, when you’re training on your own and you’re not available to your teammates, you feel uncomfortable,” Ojeda said. “You value being healthy more. It’s like everything in life. When you feel good, you live life almost on autopilot, so to speak. You go to work, you go home, you come back, you sleep. However, when you or someone close to you goes through an illness or something like that, you value the moment much more and become more conscious of what you’re experiencing.”

Pride Loan Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City

The Orlando Pride loaned goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City through January of 2027. Moorhouse joined the Pride prior to the 2022 season and helped the club win both the NWSL Championship and Shield in 2024. However, she has struggled this year alongside the rest of the Pride’s defense. Moorhouse hasn’t played in the past two games for the Pride, with Cosette Morche starting in her place. Her current contract with the Pride lasts through the 2027 NWSL season, so we’ll have to wait and see what her future with the club is when the loan ends.

Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup Journey

Between the World Cup, regular season, and Leagues Cup this summer, it can be easy to forget that Orlando City is still in contention to win this year’s U.S. Open Cup. The Lions are in the semifinals of the tournament after crushing Atlanta United 4-1 in the quarterfinals back on May 19. The Lions won much tighter affairs prior to that win, with Javier Otero coming up with seven saves in a 1-0 win over FC Naples and Zakaria Taifi scoring in stoppage time to beat the New England Revolution 4-3 in the following match. Orlando will be on the road for its semifinal match against the Columbus Crew on Sept. 16, but the offense has received a boost due to the arrivals of Antoine Griezmann and Daryl Dike this summer.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

MLS signings continue to pour in as teams look to improve their squads for the rest of this season and beyond. The Colorado Rapids signed Ghanaian winger Ibrahim Sadiq from AZ Alkmaar, where he recorded 18 goals and seven assists in 85 appearances across three seasons with the Dutch club. San Diego also added an attacker by signing forward Cedric Bakambu, who joins as a free agent after playing at Real Betis. As for other notable moves from across the league, Real Salt Lake signed winger Dusan Zagar as an MLS U22 Initiative player, forward Lyle Foster joined the Houston Dynamo on loan, and the Columbus Crew continued to improve on offense by signing Moroccan winger Anass Zaroury on loan from Panathinaikos.

Free Kicks

  • Former Orlando Pride player Christina Burkenroad is retiring from professional soccer and Monterrey will have Saturday’s game against Toluca be a send-off match for her.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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